A close-up look at NYC education policy, politics,and the people who have been, are now, or will be affected by acts of corruption and fraud. ATR CONNECT assists individuals who suddenly find themselves in the ATR ("Absent Teacher Reserve") pool and are the "new" rubber roomers, and re-assigned. The terms "rubber room" and "ATR" mean that you or any person has been targeted for removal from your job. A "Rubber Room" is not a place, but a process.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

The Common Core is championed as developing critical thinking
skills and preparing our students for "college and career." Perhaps
we should apply the former to the latter. Can we predict exactly what
university programs or job opportunities will be available many
years from now? How do we know that the Common Core will prepare students for
what awaits after graduation? Is making students "college- and
career-ready" a worthy goal, or would we prefer that our children become
"life ready" - caring, responsible, well-rounded, community minded
individuals who can adapt to whatever the future holds?

The front page of On Board on Nov. 10 contained a
short piece about how six of 10 New York students who took the SAT were not at
the level that the College Board claims will show readiness for
college and careers.
But many studies (including one mentioned in the Nov. 24 edition of On
Board) have shown that the most important predictor of college success is a
student's high school grades, not standardized test scores. As a school board
member, teacher and parent, my concern is that our state and nation's focus on
test scores feeds the myth that our schools are "failing" (and could
easily be manipulated when state officials set cut scores).

More students are graduating high school and attending college
than ever before in American history, and the United States remains the world's
leader in innovation and an economic powerhouse. Yet, despite these
achievements, there are those pushing the panic button over public education in
the United States.

Many proponents of the Common Core and other educational reforms
say we need to prepare students to compete in a global economy, particularly
with "emerging" China. Such international comparisons have been going
on for decades, including worries about falling behind the Soviets during the
Cold War Era. Alarms have been raised over PISA scores, yet our overall results
have remained consistent ever since PISA's inception. When looking at PISA
results compared by wealth, American students in schools with low poverty rates
are at the top of the international assessment rankings. The real issue is how
to improve the achievement of students who grow up in poverty.

While we can disagree about whether there is a crisis, we can all
agree that we want to see schools improve, particularly in areas with high
poverty rates. Those who favor current education reforms claim that the best way to
do that is to use high-stakes testing and have school and educator evaluations
based partly on student test scores. The Common Core is married to these
assessments and has been implemented as a way to hold states and local
districts accountable.

Educators have always tested what they taught. But now what is
tested determines what is taught. As long as Common Core testing is tied to
school and educator ratings, schools will focus on the tested subjects of ELA
and math, neglecting other disciplines.

While there is nothing wrong with the idea of creating a loose set
of national educational benchmarks, it should have been done by the right
people for the right reasons. The Common Core was primarily created and driven
by the testing industry and related non-profit groups. Educator authors Anthony
Cody, Mercedes Schneider and Julian Vasquez Heilig have debunked the claim that
teachers played a major role in the creation of the Common Core. K-12 educators
had little input in the process other than as part of validation groups.

Notably, the validation committees lacked early childhood and
special education educators as well as teachers of English language learners.
If early childhood experts had been involved in creating the Common Core, we
would not be hearing so many concerns about the appropriateness of the
standards for our youngest students. A group that wants to restore play to
kindergartens and preschools called the Alliance for Childhood has called for
the suspension of the Common Core Standards for grades K-3. The group's
advisory board includes many prominent professors of education including Linda
Darling-Hammond of Stanford, Deborah Meier of New York University and Dorothy
and Jerome Singer of Yale.

All students need to be challenged, but the Common Core is an
unproven framework that hampers teachers' efforts to diversify instruction for
all learners. In the first two years of the Common Core assessments in New
York, the achievement gap between white and black students has increased. What
about children with learning disabilities or English Language Learners? Will
the Common Core leave all of these groups further behind? What will be the
impact on graduation rates as students will be required to pass Regents Exams
aligned to the Core?

The absence of working K-12 educators in the creation of the
Common Core has led to questionable instruction methods in both math and
English Language Arts (ELA). As noted on the front page of On Board on
Nov. 24, educators are concerned that the Common Core encourages an
overreliance on non-fiction and informational text. ELA teachers are also
troubled by the approach to fiction. In some modules available on EngageNY,
students will spend several grueling weeks "close reading" a novel,
frustrating and boring both advanced and struggling readers. Other lessons require
only reading an excerpt from a novel - a practice that mirrors
test-preparation. As noted in the Chicago Teachers Union's trenchant Common
Core Position Paper, students need to find joy in reading, personal
connections to previous knowledge and experiences. Boring "canned"
readings and excerpts that mirror standardized exams will not inspire a love of
reading.

Then there's math. Some of the new standards emphasize learning a
visual process of breaking down a mathematical problem that may be helpful to
some students. But Common Core math has become more about learning the language
of math as opposed to understanding math itself. Many of the new math processes
are confusing and take longer than traditional methods to solve problems. On
social media, parents who have degrees and are employed in STEM fields have
questioned how the new math would apply to their real world job tasks.

Many people ask: If not the Common Core, then what? New York has
had excellent standards across various disciplines for years. Gary Stern of the
Journal News recently looked at the "lost standards," an effort by
actual New York educators to update the Empire State's educational benchmarks.
This laudable process to update our standards was tossed aside as the Board of
Regents moved towards adopting the Common Core as part of receiving $700
million from the Race to the Top initiative.

How should New York proceed? We should drop the Common Core
Standards and revive and continue the progress that created "lost
standards," known as the Regents Standards Review and Revision Initiative.
The recent completion of the Social Studies Framework shows that quality
standards can be created by New York educators who know their students,
content, and age-appropriateness of curriculum.

While standards are important, they have been a distraction from
other issues that desperately need attention in Albany. Imagine if all the
major political and financial supporters of the Common Core put their energies
towards advocating for small class sizes, along with diverse program and course
offerings. What if the proponents of the Core began applying their considerable
resources to work for community school models that can provide wraparound
services for schools in areas of poverty to meet the needs of the whole child?
There are many ways we can move education forward in New York State without
tying our future to the Common Core and the failing schools myth.

Chris Cerrone is a member of the Springville-Griffith Institute
school board, a middle school educator in Hamburg Central Schools and a
founding member of New York State Allies for Public Education. This article
does not necessarily represent the viewpoints of organizations of which he is a
member.

"Eileen here is another email that i sent to marcus back in october. Since I asked marcus to respond to me through emails instead of calling me and asking me for the same documents over and over he has not reached out to me at all."

My name is and I
am currently on the OPI ineligible list and can not work as a sub. This
is because a bogus verbal abuse case was initiated against me after I had
reported to the assistant principal of the school a child who had felt
agitated by a quote that the dean had placed on the black board during class.
Instead of the dean being investigated for verbal abuse, I was charged
with it in retaliation for not only what I observed but also my
writing up a student later that day who had violated 9 discipline codes.
Instead of the student being suspended I was punished.

Before this incident, I was
working as a sub in good standing from May of 2012 until I accepted a job for
ONLY ONE DAY at MS228X in the Bronx. During this time period I had been working
continuously at MS80X since October 31 2013, working as a sub, running an after
school chess club and working at the school's saturday academy,
teaching ELA and Math. I really didn't have to work at any other sites. It's very unfortunate
that I chose to accept a position when I never should have. I'm paying
for it now.

I understand the limitations under
which you have to work. I know that even though you may believe
everything I am telling you, with respect to my case, your job is limited to
receiving allegations, running discipline meetings for those accused of wrong
doing, and giving out whatever corrective action you see fit.

When I received the write up
on May 6, 2014, I filed a grievance on May 9 regarding the procedural
aspect of the letter in that the principal never called OSI and that she
and the legal dept at 1 Fordham Plaza did not follow the proper procedures.
They not only altered statements but also tried to submit 8 new statements
at my step 1 grievance on June 3 AFTER OSI INFORMED ME MY CASE WAS
CLOSED. Those bogus statements are included in my file.

The grievance is in it's
final stages of appeal with the UFT. I met with a group of 8 at 50
Broadway on December 1, 2014. I went to your office to visit you a couple
of months ago and I spoke to Elenor Rollins who showed me my file.. In my file
there were statements which had never been given to me....... Only two
statements were read to me during my initial meeting with the principal.
When the principal rendered it into writing they changed what had
transpired in the meeting to something worse and the charges were upgraded to
corporal punishment by a Mr. Jeffrey Gamils, whom I had met at Fordham Plaza
when I signed for the letter. [Jeff Gamils was a DOE Attorney prosecuting DOE employees at 3020-a arbitration - Editor]

Your office sent to
my attention back in May of this past year a summons for me to meet with you
for a disciplinary meeting based on the contents of the letter written to me
dated april 25 which I received on May 6, 2014. Once again I
understand that your job is limited to addressing the substantiated allegations
of verbal abuse. I took the route that I felt and still feel was the
right one. I filed a grievance and submitted a copy of the grievance to
one of your assistants in May when I visited your office. I also had requested
to Ms. Rollins that the disciplinary hearing be held in abeyance until the
grievance process has been complete.

My question to you is why
was I allowed to file for a renewal of my substitute license on June 13?
If I really couldn't work until the disciplinary hearing was held?
Another item I have issue with was an email that I received from your
unit dated July 29th 2am in the morning where it was stated that
because I hadn't worked the 20 day minimum days, I could not serve as a sub for
the 2014-15 academic year. I did receive a follow up email from your unit
almost immediately and it stated that your unit was in error and that I had
indeed worked the minimum days. But it left me with a strange feeling
that your unit was looking for a way, any way to keep me from working. My
suspicions were borne out on September 3, 2014 when I received another email
from your unit saying that since OPI has an eligibility issue with me, I can
not work as a sub until this issue is cleared up with OPI. It meant that
I was put on the infamous "do not hire" list.

As of the writing of this
epistle, my main focus is CLEARING MY NAME, subbing is the furthest thing from
my mind. I need to have that problem code taken off because I applied for
the principal's pool back in June, and you know where that goes, They won't
call me for an interview unless the problem code is removed.

I tried calling OPI and I received
a curious voice message from them. They stated that they no longer accept
phone calls unless it is from a law enforcement unit.

When I received the letter for the file I
immediately called SCI reporting the principal for doctoring up the statements.
They gave me a case number and kicked it to OSI. They declined to
investigate my allegation saying it was a UNION MATTER. When you summoned me in
May I was almost sure that it was to fire me. However, after seeing
youtube videos of you explaining the entire subcentral process and the fact
that you went to Fordham as I did, I said to myself, "he's not such a bad
guy afterall". I am in limbo right now. I can't work, not even for
a schoool vender that wants me to work for them. I received a job offer
from Dance Academy in the Bronx from the AP. Mr Papas. offering me a half a year
of subbing at their school. I had to decline.

In closing, Dr. Ianniello, Id like
to ask you to check something for me.... In one of your youtube broadcasts you
stated that because subcentral is now automated you can keep track of all
calls. On April 3 2014 Thursday night I received something from
subcentral it was a job offer to work at the very same school for the entire
week of April 7 to April 11 at MS228X in the bronx. it was a type of
offering that stated "details" and that i could accept it on line.
This was an offer from the very same school which had called me on March
31st Stating that a verbal abuse charge had been leveled against me.
Now, if OSI had really been called would I have been able to work that
week or the following week, my answer is no.

Wish you and your family a very happy holiday

From: @aol.com>To: efields <efields@uft.org>Sent: Fri, Dec 5, 2014 9:19 amSubject: letter to Marcus EscobarSubject: The Setup of a Substitute TeacherMarcus, I received a call to my cell phone from you this morning, in the message you asked me to call you back because you have a few questions. Please ask me the questions through the email and I will respond. I have a few questions for you. Did you contact Daisy Santiago and ask her for a copy of her notes for the meeting convened onApril 23with me and the administration at ms228x as i've ask you to do. Her notes will indicate that they read 2 statements to me. Her notes will also show that they said, "you held a sign over the girls head that said big trouble and you said big trouble little china". This is at variance with what was in theApril 25thdetermination. In that letter I received it was said, "you held a piece of paper over her head that said big trouble and you said Big K Little China".

I received the letter on May 6, 2014 and signed for it when I went to 1 Fordham Plaza and met the Field Consultant, Jeffrey Gamils who advised the principal since they didn't have a strong case against me, that they should change the statements to make it look worse than what had actually not occurred and the allegations were upgraded to corporal punishment. Mr Gamils defended the letter as if he had written it himself. he also lied stating that weekends count in 48 hour notices. This was disputed even by a representative of Dr. Ianniello's office Director of Substitute Central. After I received the letter I called Ms Morales and asked her what next. She stated that she didn't know because she gets guidance and directions from legal, further implicating Mr. Gamils.

My question is why have a 48 rule if you're not going to enforce it. I received a certified letter onApril 14while we were on the Easter break The letter arrived to my p.o. box onApril 11theFridaybefore we broke for Easter break. Let's pretend that I had signed for the letter on April 11, 2014. The school still would have been out of compliance on the 48 hour notice sinceApril 11thwas the last school day beforeApril 23rd, the day I was summoned to the meeting.

The administration in the person of Maria Morales A.P. summoned me to a meeting on April 23, 2014 which translates to no 48 hour notice at all. Nor was there a case number appended in the notice, further proving that OSI was never contacted. In order for them to be in compliance with and within the 48 hour time frame they should have summoned me onFriday April 25which would be two school days after I received the notice. The administration still could have been in compliance if they had requested that I sign for a 48 hour notice waiver at theApril 23meeting. But they did not do so.

In the substitute teachers contract this is clearly a violation of Article 9 C-3 which states, "Teachers summoned to a meeting get a 48 hour notice. An interview which is not held in accordance with these conditions shall not be considered a part of the employee's personnel file or record and neither the fact of the interview nor any statements made at the interview may be used in any subsequent Board proceeding involving the employee."

Also I need a statement from Daisy regarding her summoning the girl to the main office after dismissal and the conversation she had with her where she asked her "why did you leave the classroom without permission?" and the girl's response was, "because I thought I was gonna be in trouble". This proves that the girl never made an allegation against me and that this case was fabricated by the administration at ms228x to punish me for writing up the principal's monitor who violated 9 student discipline codes.

I still have not received any communication from UFT Rep. Saul. Our case has merit, they didn;t give me a 48 hour notice, no case number was entered for me until April . NO Call was made to OSI by the principal within the 24 hour time frame. If a call had been made downtown they would have summoned me properly through the 48 hour notice in writing. Instead they tried to summon me verbally over the phone the entire week fromMarch 31 through April 4th. They even sent meon ThursdaynightApril 3rd via subcentral an offer to sub there for the entire week fromApril 7-toApril 11. If they had indeed called it in to OSI, would they have offered me a one weeks assignment? NO. It was a ploy to lure me into their school, for what? To conference with me regarding my informing the Assistant Principal Maria Morales onMarch 28that a student had felt that she had been singled out by the dean via something that he wrote on the black board (alleged verbal abuse vs Dean Mr. Soler). I wasn't making any allegations against the dean. I was simply stating what had happened and it aftermath. The principal never gave me a copy of chancellor's regs. 420/421 to read and sign off on thus making her in violation of chancellor's reg 421/420 whereby any staff first coming to the school must be given a copy of both regs and sign off on them that they received them and read them.

They saw it differently. That's why they summoned me verbally and fabricated the verbal abuse case. I informed Ms Morales in our phone conversation onApril 1st that if she was not happy with my performance she could put me on the no call list and i would have to go to a hearing downtown to sub central, effectively suspending me. But Ms Morales stated, No, we want to resolve this" further proof that this was never called down to OSI.

Principal never asked me during the initial meeting onApril 23if there was anyone who would back up my claim that nothing happened in the classroom. There was a Ms. Turner who they refer to as KT. She was in the room. OnMarch 28at dismissal Ms. Turner had approached me and asked me if the principal had spoken to me. I told her, No. She then said "give me your email i got your back." and left

At a meeting convened between myself, [UFT] Vinnie Gaglione and Margaret Borelli onJune 6 on the basis of the principal not asking me if there was anyone to back my claim nothing happened, Mr. Gaglione, in the presence of Ms. Borelli and myself stated, "That's it we are going to step II. You were waiting outside the cubicle and heard what he said You then told me to wait outside your office but you never called me in. I waited over an hour and then left. when I returned onMonday June 9thMr. Gaglione said you were absent . When we finally spoke you changed your stance and told me "an 18 person committee" would hear my case. This is at variance with what Mr. Gaglione had told me

The principal knows full well what Daisy Santiago asked the girl and what the girl's response was because I brought it up at all three meetings ( initial meetingApril 23, step 1 grievanceJune 3and the security breach meeting (24 hour complaint) onJune 3rd.

At the conclusion of theJune 3rdSECURITY BREACH MEETING Brenda Gonzalez attempted to submit for the record 8 new statements from students and 2 new statements from adults against me, saying i had to sign a privacy notice. She tried to submit these documents AFTER OSI had informed me that the verbal abuse case was closed. I refused to accept these bogus statements, nor did i sign any privacy notice. telling her the case was now closed.

As I left she slipped me certain documents unbeknownst to Daisy Santiago.

I did not notice these documents until I got home and looked through my papers. Ms. Gonzalez had given me a copy of the girl's statement much different than the one that was read to me onApril 23rd. The letter was a point by point rebuttal of my May 23email that I sent to the Mayor, the Governor, the Public Advocate and Catherine Nolan. It was not written in March but in May or there after. I suspect the bogus letters were written behind closed doors on the same day of thejune 3rdmeeting because instead of submitting them during the grievance meeting she tried to submit them at the conclusion of the Security Breach meeting, almost two hours after the commencement of the step one meeting. as if they had just been manufactured. Surely that was plenty of time for them to fabricate such letters. And why are all the letters dated 3/31/14 when the principal interviewed all three girls (two of whom she pulled out of the class at the same time, violating procedure of questioning witnesses). She also violated procedure by not getting statements from the students onMarch 28. This is further proof that OSI was not contacted.

Clearly the documents are either a forgery or worse yet, pre written documents which were placed in front of the students so that they could copy them word for word. I know if I were the parent of these students I'd be outraged that the administration was using them as pawns to do in a teacher.

Ms Gonzalez also surreptitiously gave me the intake sheet at OSI. I noticed that the case number was not generated in March as it should have been. It was generated in April because I compared the case number to one I had seen in an online blog belonging to Francesco Portelos. His case number 14-02468X had been generated in April and was before mine which is 14-02767 which means my case came 299 cases after his.

Mr Joseph Baranello at Foil downtown confirmed in an email to me that ALL CASES ARE SEQUENTIAL BY CALENDER YEAR AND THAT ALL CASES END WITH X. At myJune 6thmeeting Margaret Borelli, after being shown the OSI intake document by me, wrongly stated that X stands for the Bronx and that cases are not sequential.

The purported day on the girl's statement is 3/31/14. But there is no way that this statement is authentic. It was written in direct response to my complaint. They even repudiate my witnessing what happened in the class the dean was teaching. and instead say that I did something wrong to the girl who made the complaint about the dean. In the statement it is alleged that I also held a sign over the same girls head whom I had reported to the Assistant Principal as being agitated by what the dean had written on the board. If this was really true then why wasn't I under another investigation. I'll tell you why. this bogus document was never sent downtown to OSI. It was manufactured in direct response to my complaint to the Mayor so that I would back off and not continue to pursue the matter any further. The statement was given to me to intimidate me into silence.

I felt that these documents that the principal had given to me out of Daisy Santiago's sight was a subtle message to me to back off, that they had a ready answer for everything that I was saying in my favor and that they were telling me to keep quiet. What is stated in the OSI intake form is at variance with both what was read to me onApril 23rdand the principal's write up to me datedApril 25. So there is a discrepancy between all three documents: The initial statements read to me, the principal's letter for the file and now the OSI intake form.. They can't seem to get it right. ON THREE DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS THEY SAY I DID THREE DIFFERENT THINGS.

I am about to go to PERB with my findings because it looks like your unit in the Bronx will not help me.. I know I'm retired and getting a pension but my substitute paychecks still indicate that union dues are being withheld. I'm entitled to the same unbiased union representation that any active member is entitled to.

Testimonials From Some of Our Clients

“Dear Betsy,
I am forever indebted to you, Betsy, for your expert advice throughout a horrific ordeal. You worked tirelessly to prove my innocence in a 3020a proceeding that was instigated by a corrupt school district and fueled by lies. My proceedings ended with my complete exoneration, my record expunged and my immediate return to the classroom. We didn’t even need to file an appeal! Thank you, Betsy. I am now eligible to retire and enjoy the benefits you helped me to protect. God bless you and the work you do protecting the innocent
Maria G;

Alexandra F.

Dear Betsy,

I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for CONSTANTLY being there for me throughout such a tumultuous time in my life. I have been battling severe harassment at my place of work for months now, and you have advised me through every single second of it. I would not have had the strength or confidence to battle such an evil administration without your help. You have answered my phone calls from 7AM through nearly midnight with any and all of my concerns. I have called you countless times to just vent, or even cry, and you have been there with open arms to pivot my negative anticipations into positive advocacy. You have gone above and beyond your line of duty to help me, and for that, I can never repay you. You have changed the outcome of my life, and led me to justice. More importantly, you have led me to happiness again, for which I am eternally grateful. As I am getting older, I am realizing that there are many bad people in this world, but you are TRULY one of the good ones. When one finds a great person in life with their true best interest at heart, they should hold onto that and take their word as bond. My last statement truly defines you, an expert in what you do, as well as a 24 hour support system. You are amazing Betsy, and my life would truly not be the same if you had not stepped into it!!!!!

Thank you again for EVERYTHING you have done for me. Your advisement and care will be carried in my heart for the rest of my life.

Alexandra F.

Tollyne D.

After 18 years of service, the general consensus as a union member is that you cannot trust people and you have to be extremely careful who you talk to. I was brought up being told that I should be sure that the person I am speaking to is knowledgeable and to be TRUSTED, and Betsy Combier is such a person. She consistently proves that she is trustworthy, very knowledgeable and caring, time and time again.

Tollyne D.

David P.

To whom this may concern,
I want to recommend Betsy Combier as the best person you could have in your corner. From the first day I met Betsy I felt secure. I had the misfortune of having to go through a 3020a hearing and with help of Ms. Combier my job was secure, I don’t know where I would be without Betsy’s help and support. She is still assisting me with my federal case. I could not recommend Betsy any higher, she is a person of her word, and her expertise is important and necessary for everyone without any problem.
David P.

Jason R.

I met Betsy Combier approximately about 5 years ago, as a result of a recommendation from a colleague. Since then she has been an advocate of mine ever since, and has worked above and beyond my expectation. Betsy fights against the wrongdoing of public education officials in New York City. Throughout the extremely difficult arbitration, Betsy fought for my unalienable rights, even though my former principal did everything in her power to tarnish my name and damage my career.
Betsy is not an attorney yet she has the experience and knowledge that is above and beyond that of an attorney and follows through on all issues. She is truly an angel from heaven above, and a quality public defender.

Laura B.

I was charged with a 3020A in October 2016 after receiving three developing ratings in a row. I called numerous law firms as well as my union. Most people who I talked to said that I should settle because I was fighting a losing battle. A lawyer told me that anyone that says you can win a 3020A is a liar. I heard about Betsy from a teacher placed in my building who was going through the 3020A process. I hired Betsy and one of the Attorneys who works with her and her company, and won my case! Betsy saved my job and saved my life because she was emotionally supportive at a time when I needed it the most. Betsy goes above and beyond for her clients. She is readily available day and night for her clients. Betsy’s knowledge of education law is exceptional and she was a great help to my attorney. Betsy is relentless and fights hard for her clients.

ADVOCATZ

Contact me with a concern or issue

I assist anyone who needs help, so email me your problem to start the ball rolling! I am a teacher/parent advocate, and I am the editor/writer for this blog and the website parentadvocates.org. I also write about court corruption on my blog "NYC Court Corruption". I am interested in random injustice and the criminalizing of innocent people. If you want to chat you may email me at: betsy.combier@gmail.com and I'm on twitter and have a facebook page too. I'm not an attorney and do not give legal advice.

If you want to talk with me about your 3020-a charges, I consult and go over your case without charge. No fee.

And, in response to the lies of certain individuals who resent my work, the truth is that all conversations are confidential and I do not tape secretly.

Betsy Combier

My Thoughts and Raison d'etre

This blog is about the denial of Constitutional rights by the Mayor, the New York City Department of Education and the Chancellor, New York State and Federal Courts, New York State legislature, and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), as well as PACs and all parties participating in the business of public school education in New York City, to harm and in neglect of parents, children, and staff of public schools in the five boroughs. These thoughts are not simply mindless conclusions reached out of thin air, but a result of 14 years of research into the NYC DOE and the Courts as a reporter and paralegal.
I am an advocate of Unions and union rights, public schools and charters, and learning online as well as outside of the classroom. I cannot and do not support anyone, whether they be union management, government, private members of the political or legal system, or simply retired teachers with an agenda, if he or she tramples, discards, or rebuffs anyone's individual civil rights. As a reporter, journalist, advocate, researcher and paralegal, I have created this blog to inform the public about my experience working for the UFT and being the parent of four daughters who went through the public school system in NYC, as well as examine issues that flow from the massive denial of due process rights that I saw and have documented. The two most important points you should remember: first, everyone at the New York City Board/Department of Education and all Union bigs are motivated by power and money, and looking good. If anyone dares to blow the whistle on these racketeers, retaliation follows, so be a strategist; second, I am not an Attorney and nothing I write or say is legal advice, simply my thoughts. Take 'em or leave 'em.
Betsy Combier, Editor
NYC Rubber Room Reporter
http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com
New York Court Corruption
http://newyorkcourtcorruption.blogspot.com
Parentadvocates.org
http://www.parentadvocates.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/betsy.combier
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BetsyCombier
The NYC Public Voice
http://nycpublicvoice.blogspot.com/betsy.combier@gmail.com
Lawline July 27, 2011
http://www.teachem.com/lawlinetv/learn/lawline-tv-teachers-unions-the-last-in-first-out-rule/

Principal Anne Seifullah changes her image so that she can keep her job amidst sexting and trysts in the school, Robert Wagner Secondary Sch...

Google + Rubber Room Community

FAITH

When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly. Patrick Overton

Truth Seeks Light - Lies Seek Shadows

sayin like it is

Actions Have Consequences

Writing as Music

Rubber Room teachers wish me a happy birthday (2006)

"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all."

- Aristotle

Important Numbers

Amy Arundel (ATR Point Person) 212-510-6468

UFT www.uft.org

OPI (Problem Code) 1-718-935-2666

UFT Certification Services 1-212-420-1830

Teachers REtirement System 1-888-869-2877

Mandated Reporters 1-800-635-1522

Staten Island UFT 1-718-605-1400

Brooklyn UFT 1-718-852-4900

Bronx UFT 1-718-379-6200

Manhattan UFT 1-212-598-6800

Queens UFT 1-718-275-4400

Rubber Room Satire

The Labor Movement

The Teaching Equation

We Can Work Out Our Differences

The E-Accountability Foundation

The E-Accountability Foundation brings you this blog which highlights issues that have or should be read by people interested in civil rights, and accountability. The E-Accountability Foundation is a 501(C)3 organization that holds people accountable for their actions online and, through the internet, seeks to bring justice to anyone who has been harmed without reason. We give the'A for Accountability' Awardto those who are willing to blow the whistle on unjust, misleading, or false actions and claims of the politico-educational complex in order to bring about educational reform in favor of children of all races, intellectual ability and economic status.

AddThis

Performance Management - Office of Labor Relations

From Betsy Combier

The NYC Office of Labor Relations, with the support of the UFT, has issued to principals a document called"Performance Management" on how to get rid of an incompetent teacher. Who is an "incompetent teacher"? Anyone the NYC Department of Education wants to remove from the system because he/she is too senior (makes too much money), is disabled (and therefore cannot be deemed factory-perfect) and/or is other impaired (is a whistleblower, cannot be intimidated, is ethnically challenged - not the 'right' race, etc).

Candace R. McLaren

Director, Office of Special Investigations (OSI)

Follow by Email

Polo Colon

"Rubber Room"

(1) a space where a worker subject to a disciplinary hearing or other administrative action waits and does no work; generally, a place or personal mind-set of isolation.(2) a literal reference to a padded cell, which is, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, “a room in a psychiatric hospital with padded walls to prevent violent patients from injuring themselves.”from Double-Tongued Dictionary http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/rubber_room/

"Rubberization"

The word "rubberization" is a new word that is used to describe the process of assigning and paying people to sit and do nothing in a drab room away from their place of employment while their employers make up charges that allege sexual or corporal misconduct without any facts upon which to base the allegation on.

Email Subscriptions powered by FeedBlitz

Theresa Europe, NYC BOE ATU Director

Robin Greenfield

Deputy Counsel to the NYC DOE

UFT Pres. Mike Mulgrew and NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg

UFT umbrella pals

New York State Supreme Court Judge Manuel Mendez

ATR CONNECT

Tenured Teachers who are found to be guilty of misconduct or incompetency at 3020-a but are not terminated, who have blown the whistle on the misconduct of politically favored NYC Department of Education employees, and/or who are simply disliked for any reason can suddenly find themselves in the ATR ("Absent Teacher Reserve") pool - employees without rights or voices, and without chapter leader union representation.

This new group of people are the "new" rubber roomers without representation at the UFT and denied the protection of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, because basically they have been pushed out of their jobs unfairly and under color of law by Mayor Bloomberg and the Chief Executives of the Department of Education who call themselves "Chancellors", "Network Leaders", "Superintendents", etc., consistently without any facts or evidence to support the false claims.

A group of teachers who are, or were, made into ATRs, ATR Polo Colon, and I, Betsy Combier, an advocate for transparency and labor/employment rights, have joined together to expose the denial of due process, civil and human rights by chiefs of the NYC Department of Education (NYC DOE), certain arbitrators at 3020-a, leaders of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the "investigators" -agents who work for the Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI), Office of Special Investigation (OSI), and the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) - and the Attorneys who work for the New York United Teachers (NYSUT), and the New York Law Department (Corporation Counsel).

In order to protect the safety of those who join this group to promote an end to the "Rubberization" process described on this blog since 2007, names of those who tell their stories will, for now, remain anonymous if the person so desires, and Polo and I will be the gatekeepers. So if you are an ATR, or know a story involving an ATR or someone re-assigned or about to go into a 3020-a, please use the email address advocatz77@gmail.com and give us your contact information. We will protect your anonymity and hold onto your privacy.

Betsy Combier and Polo Colon, Editors

FAITH When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly.

Patrick Overton

We have forty million reasons for failure but not a single excuse.Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

The Re-Assignment Overview by Betsy Combier

The New York City Board of Education decided in 2002 to rid the public school system of staff who interfered with their takeover and control. The criteria for a "good teacher" is now, more often than not, a "silent teacher", a person who never asks questions, is younger than 40, is making a salary below $50,000, does not care about kids and what they learn, or whether or not money (books, supplies, equipment, etc) is missing. When a teacher or staff member of a school dares to do the right thing and speaks out about wrong-doing - this person is often called a "whistleblower" or "flamethrower" - or, simply is not liked for any reason by the Principal/NYC personnel, suddenly he/she is accused of something by somebody ("given a label of "A", "B", "C", and so on) and whisked away to a drab room called a temporary re-assignment center or "rubber room". Members of the offices of the Special Commissioner of Investigation or the Office of Special Investigations then start work on building a case against the person to justify their being thrown in prison, declared "unfit for duty", or, as Mr. Joel Klein has said, characterized as "guilty of sexual activities and corporal punishment" against the children of New York City.The stories of the people I have met who sit every day in the 8 rubber rooms of NYC prove to me that Mr. Klein is very wrong about his assessment, and this blog is created to prove it to you.

Puppy Snooze

US Department of Labor ELAWS

Aeri Pang, Gotcha Squad Attorney

Attorney Pang, red dress, now chief Attorney For New York State Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Kern

New York State Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Kern

NYC EdStats You Can Use

$12.5 billion: Annual New York City Department of Education (DOE) budget (2002)

$21 billion: Annual New York City DOE budget (2009)
1,719: Number officials employed by the DOE central administration in June 2002

2,442: Number of officials employed by the central administration as of November 2008

2: Number of DOE officials earning more than $180,000 per year in 2004.

22: Number of DOE officials earning more than $180,000 per year in 2007.

5: Number of DOE public relations staffers in 2003.

23: Number of DOE public relations staffers in 2008.

944: Number of contracts approved by DOE in 2008, at a total cost of $1.9 billion.

20: Percentage of contracts that exceeded estimated cost by at least 25 percent.

$67.5 million: Annual budget of Project Arts, a decade-old program that was the sole source of dedicated funding for arts education. It was eliminated in 2007.

86: Percentage of principals who said in a 2008 poll that they were unable to provide a quality education because of excessive class sizes in their schools.

100,000: Number of seats DOE plans to provide for charter school students by 2012.

25,000: Number of seats DOE plans to build under 2010 to 2014 capital plan.

66,895: Number of K-3 school-children in classes of 25 or more during the 2008-09 school year.

15,440: Average number of seats per year built during the last six years of the Rudolph Giuliani administration.

10,895: Average number of seats per year built during the first six years of the Bloomberg administration.

27.2: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2001-02 who were Black.

14.1: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2006-07 who were Black.

53.3: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2001-02 who were white.

65.5: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2006-07 who were white.

76: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Latino students in 8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) in 2003.

75: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Hispanic students in 8th grade ELA in 2008.

77: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Hispanic 8th graders in math in 2003.

81: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Hispanic 8th graders in math in 2008.

54: Percentage of New York City public school parents who disapproved of Mayor Bloomberg’s handling of education, according to a March 2009 Quinnipiac poll.

Sources: New York City Council, New York City Comptroller’s Office, New York Daily News, New York Post, Eduwonkette, Quinnipiac Institute, Black Educator, Class Size Matters, New York City Schools Under Bloomberg and Klein.

Betsy Combier and NYSUT lawyer Chris Callagy

The New York City Whistle Award

NYC Whistlers, Winners of the NYC Whistle Award

...are those individuals in New York City who are willing to whistleblow unjust, misleading, or false actions and claims of the politico-educational complex in order to bring about educational reform in favor of children of all races, intellectual ability and economic status. Whistlers ask questions that need to be asked, such as "where is the money?" and "Why does it have to be this way?" and they never give up.

These people have withstood adversity and have held those who seem not to believe in honesty, integrity and compassion accountable for their actions.

Congratulations, and keep up the good work!

Betsy Combier

Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard Condon

Condon "qualified" for his current post after Bloomberg lowered standards; who will leash him?

A great teacher

After being interviewed by the school administration, the prospective teacher said: 'Let me see if I've got this right.

'You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.

'You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.

'You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job 'You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the final exams.

'You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English, Spanish or any other language, by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.

'You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletinboard, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps. 'You want me to do all this and then you tell me. . . I CAN'T PRAY?

NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly

Joel Klein's famous statement about rubber room teachers and staff

On November 27, 2006, temporarily re-assigned teacher (TRT) Polo Colon asked Joel Klein, the "pretend" Chancellor of the NYC public school system, if he had voted to terminate teachers at the secret Executive Session held just before the public meeting of the Panel For Educational Policy.Mr. Klein answered,"We did not vote to terminate you. We did vote to terminate a teacher in executive Session...in fact, we voted to terminate two teachers. It's perfectly consistent with the law.Many teachers have been charged with sexual activities and some are charged with corporal punishment...I have no interest in removing people who are qualified to teach, I can assure you, because I dont get any return...and in fact, I have complained publicly about how long this process drags out. But our first concern will always be and, as a former lawyer and somebody who clerked on the United States Supreme Court I will tell you, there is no violation of due process whatsoever..."- extracted from the audiotape of the PEP meeting bought by Betsy Combier after filing a FOIL request to the NYC BOE

Rally November 2008 at Tweed

November 26, 2007 Candelight Vigil

Thousands of teachers and school staff members rally at Tweed

A Review of Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools by Betsy Combier

Lydia Segal's book puts the NYC, Chicago, and California Departments of Education on notice....we who have read this book know more about how the system is not there for our kids than "you" want us to know. Lydia Segal's book Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools changes the public school reform movement forever. We can no longer assume that more money allocated to our schools will "fix" the disaster that is our public school system.

Lydia Segal draws on her 10 years of undercover investigation and research in over five urban school districts, including the three largest, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and the two most decentralized, Houston and Edmonton, Canada, to provide, in her new book Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools, the details of the corruption, theft, fraud, and patronage that has overrun our public school establishment for several decades. There is no question that anyone who is interested in school reform -this means anyone who pays taxes, is a parent or guardian of a child attending school and/or who works toward a goal of establishing an education system that puts children first - must read this book. Ms. Segal's research and information on the education establishment's 'dark' side outrages the reader, and incites us to demand change. Her book therefore, is much more than a book, it is a call to action. We cannot be bystanders any longer to the systemic abuse she so vividly describes, and we will never be able to listen in the same way ever again to school Principals, Superintendents, school custodians or district board members as they request more money "to help the children."

The book's detailed reports on the corruption and crime in our public schools, supported by 52 pages of interview notes, references and specific examples, provide irrefutable evidence that the current failures of our nation's public schools are not due to the lack of money but the impossibility of getting the money to the children who need it and for whom the money is allocated in the first place. Recent statistics show that students of all ages are not learning what they need to know, schools are overcome with violence, teachers are demoralized, and yet billions of dollars are literally shovelled into the system every year. The New York City school system receives more than $16 billion every year; Los Angeles, $7 billion; and Chicago, $3.6 billion. Where does this money go? We have all asked this question as we have walked through school hallways dodging the paint falling off the walls and ceilings, watching our children sitting on broken chairs, using bathrooms without running water or toilet paper, and struggling to achieve their personal best without the services and resources they are supposed to have. Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools is the first book ever to systematically examine school waste and corruption and how to fight it. Ms. Segal, an undercover school investigator turned law professor, documents where the money goes, how waste and fraud embedded in the operation of large school bureaucracies siphon money from classrooms, distort educational priorities, block initiatives, and what we can do to bring badly-needed change. She describes in detail how only a small percentage of the money allocated to students in our public schools actually gets used by them due to corruption and waste, and how city school systems scoring lowest on standardized tests tend to have the biggest criminal records and most payroll padding. Coding problems, the procurement process, compartmentalization and opacity of information leave administrators with only two options: good corruption (which ultimately helps the kids) and bad corruption (which never helps anyone but the perpetrator and his/her allies and accomplices). Indeed, the system fights those who try the good corruption route.

Ms. Segal argues that the problem is not usually bad people, but a bad system that focuses on process at the expense of results. Decades of rules and regulations along with layers of top-down supervision make it so hard to do business with school systems that they encourage the very fraud and waste they were designed to curb. She tells us about how the "godfathers" and "godmothers" (the school board members) obtain jobs for their "pieces" in order to protect the systemic waste and fraud from being dismantled or exposed. Fortunately, she writes, there are good people involved in the corruption as well who must violate the rules in order to get their jobs done. Nonetheless, absurdities abound: school systems following rules to save every penny spend thousands of dollars hunting down checks as small as $25; it takes so long to pay vendors for their work that some have to bribe school officials to move their checks along; caring Principals who want to fix leaky toilets may have to pay workers under the table because submitting a work order through the central office could, and often does, take years. Meanwhile, those who pilfer from classrooms get away with it because the pyramidal structure of large districts makes schools inherently difficult to oversee. What makes Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools a must-read is not only the fascinating - and depressing - details of the systemic wrong-doing but also Ms. Segal's suggestions for reform, based on the proven track records of school systems across North America that have successfully reduced waste and fraud and have pushed more resources into schools.

The pathology of the corruption suggests the remedy, Ms. Segal says, which is decentralization of power into the schools and the hands of the Principals. Distilling what successful school systems have done, Segal advocates new forms of oversight that do not clog up school systems and recommends giving principals more discretion over their school budgets as well as holding them accountable for job performance. She argues for "autonomy in exchange for performance accountability" as part of a bold, far-reaching plan for reclaiming our schools. Her conclusion is logical and convincing. Everyone who reads this book will find his or her perception of public school education changed forever. We cannot accept any longer that a generation of children has been abused by a system that is so full of greed and corruption without screaming "stop!" and "Your game is up!"

Segal reveals how systemic waste and fraud siphon millions of dollars from urban classrooms and shows how money is lost in systems that focus on process rather than on results, as well as how regulations established to curb waste and fraud provide perverse incentives for new forms of both. Anyone who is interested in school reform--this means anyone who pays taxes, is a parent or guardian of a child attending school, and/or who works toward a goal of establishing an education system that puts children first--must read this book. --

Lydia G. Segal is Associate Professor of Criminal Law and Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York.